Friday, December 11, 2009

Prioritize public schools reforms – Teodoro

MANILA, Philippines – Presidential candidate Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. on Friday urged the government to prioritize educational reform to improve the country’s public schools and lift their performance and efficiency to a level comparable to that of the private sector.

Teodoro, Lakas-Kampi CMD standard-bearer, made this call after being conferred a doctorate in public administration (honoris causa) by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in recognition of the former defense secretary’s outstanding performance as a national government leader. More than 1,000 students gathered at the PUP gymnasium in Sta. Mesa, Manila, for the occasion as Teodoro fleshed out his platform on education reform.

Public schools and institutions are performing poorly, Teodoro said, because their qualified staff lacked the support and mechanism to become better workers.

“We have more-than-qualified personnel to man our public institutions,” he said in a press statement. “What is preventing them from being more efficient is the lack of infrastructure and support mechanisms that will make them better workers.”

Teodoro also proposed that qualified civil servants be made to undergo management training in private firms to instruct them in the best management style of a particular sector and apply it later in managing public institutions.

Teodoro said the support infrastructure should be a doctrine allowing government employees to seek higher education or training relevant to their positions.

Ties that bind

He urged the government to “put our money
where our mouth is…we must invest financially and intellectually in the development of public institutions.”

He said public institutions are the “ties that bind and bridge society, especially the poorer sectors, together.”

Teodoro also said the lack of a proper incentive and reward system for public employees is forcing many qualified government workers to migrate to private and international institutions for higher salaries and benefits.

“I do not blame them for going someplace else in their desire to better themselves and their families. But I am urging the government to institute reforms where quality work of our government employees will be rewarded financially,” Teodoro said.